Tweezers



H. BLOCK Aug. 9, 1966 TWEEZERS Filed Sept. 28, 1964 FIG2 INVENTOR HAROLD BLOCK av W 4M [Aw/ ATTORNEY 3,264,909 TWEEZERS Harold Elocir, Gait Park, Mich., asaignor to Futures: Products Corp, Detroit, Mich a corporation of Michigan Filed Sept. 28, 1964, Ser. No. 399,769 3 filaiins. (Cl. 81-43) This invention relates to an improved form of tweezer of the type wherein a single manual application of pressure to the tweezer produces first a closing of the jaws and then a retraction of the jaws.

Tweezers of this general type have been previously proposed. They employ a pair of jaws which are supported for movement toward and away from one another and also for motion in a direction perpendicular to their gripping joinder. They are supportedwithin a gripping member and some form of cam mechanism connects the gripping member to each of the jaws. When the gripping members are manually urged toward one another by the operator the pressure causes the jaws to first close and then to quickly withdraw in a direction perpendicular to their gripping action. This withdrawal action acts to remove a hair or other object gripped in the jaws in a quick and relatively painless manner.

The present invention relates to an improved form of construction for tweezers of this type. This construction results in a tweezer which is low in cost, reliable in operation, and very easy to use.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, which will subsequently be disclosed in detail, the jaws of the tweezer are formed of a single elongated section of spring steel formed into a generally U shape. The two extreme ends of the jaw sections are provided with appropriate serrated sections adapted to be pressed toward one another to firmly grip the desired object. The two legs of the U which terminate in the jaws have cam shaped bends near their midsections. These bends include a radius section.

The bight end of the jaw section is encompassed within the legs of a U-shaped gripper section having its rounded ends in contact with the cam shaped bends on the legs of the jaw section. A leaf spring bent into a crossed configuration is supported between the bight of the jaw section and the bight of the gripper section. The spring urges the jaws in an outward direction with respect to the gripper section. When the gripper ends are urged toward one another they first press the jaws together and then, acting on the radius of the cam sections they force the jaws, against the bias of the spring, into a retracted position with respect to the gripper.

The preferred embodiment includes a cover section which is disposed internally of the bight of the gripper section and wraps around the spring and the bight of the U section so as to provide a unitary gripping surface. The gripper section has sets of wings which extend toward one another from its two legs and cooperate with the cover section to protect and enclose the spring.

In this manner the preferred embodiment of the invention provides a retractable tweezer which is simple in construction, easy to operate and provides an aesthetically pleasing appearance.

It is therefore seen to be the primary object of the invention to provide a tweezer of the automatic retracting type wherein the jaws are formed of one U-shaped section having cam bends on the two legs; the gripper mechanism is formed of a second U-shape section having its ends adapted to engage the cam bends; and a spring is provided between the bight of the jaw section and the bight of the gripper section adapted to urge the jaw section outwardly with respect to the gripper section.

The further object of the present invention is to proite States Patent "ice vide such a tweezer in which a cover member extends over the spring and the bight of the jaw section and engages with wings extending inwardly from the opposed legs of the gripper section to provide a cover having a unitary appearance.

Other objects, advantages, and applications of the present invention will be made apparent by the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment of the invention. The description makes reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the preferred embodiment of the tweezers with a portion of the cover broken away to facilitate illustration;

FIGURE 2 is a side view of the preferred embodiment of the tweezers;

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view of the tweezers taken along line 3-3 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a sectional view of the tweezers in a direction transverse to the view of FIGURE 3 taken along line 4-4 of FIGURE 3; and

FIGURE 5 is a cross section through one of the jaw members showing the transverse curvature thereof, taken along line 55 of FIGURE 3.

Referring to the drawings, the jaw member of the tweezers, generally indicated at 10 may be stamped or forged out of spring steel or might be appropriately formed out of a high strength plastic. The jaw 10 is generally formed into a U shape terminating in two end members 12 which are adapted to grip a section of hair or other object. The internal opposed sides of the ends may be serrated and flattened as at 14 to provide a superior gripping surface when the two ends are urged together.

The legs 16 of the jaw members are preferably bowed in the transverse direction, as best seen in FIGURE 5 in order to strengthen their desirably long and thin extension. Adjacent to the middle of the extension the bowed configuration is terminated and the jaw section takes a fiat form sharply bent at two spaced points 18 and formed in a gentle concave curve 20 intermediate the sharp bends. These bends form the bight of .the jaw section.

Intermediate the length of the legs of the jaw section, adjacent to the point where the cross sectional configuration of the legs changes from the bowed configuration of FIGURE 5 to a fiat section, a pair of bends are formed in each of the legs so as to create cam shaped sections 22. The cam sections include short intermediate sections which take the form of radii.

These sharply inclined sections of the cam 22 are normally engaged by the extreme ends of the gripper section generally indicated at 24. The gripper section 24 is preferably stamped from sheet steel or suitably formed from plastic and includes two extreme end sections 26 which are adapted to engage the outer sides of the cam sections 22 of the jaws. The gripping sections 26 each include two transversely extending cars 28 which are bent around the sides of the cam, section 22 to prevent any disengagement of the gripper ends from the cam section. Immediately adjacent the end sections 26 the gripper member is bent sharply outward as at 30 and then inwardly toward the opposite leg in a widely flaring section 32 which has serrations thereon and is adapted to be engaged by fingers for the purpose of actuating the tweezer mechanism.

The bight of the gripper mechanism is formed by two sharp bends 34 joined by a gently concaved end section 36. Intermediate the bends 34 and the gripper section 32 the gripping arms carry a pair of inwardly bent wing sections 38 extending from each of their sides. The wing sections thus extend parallel to one another and cooperate with a cover section in a manner which will be subsequently noted.

The cover section is formed of a flat sheet of steel or plastic bent into an appropriate shape and includes a pair of flattened cover members '40 joined at their upper end by a bent section 42. The bent section 42 is a little wider than the thickness of the bight 36 of the gripper section and is adapted to abut the interior side of this section 36. The extreme ends 44 of the cover section 40 are bent around the ends of the wings 38. Thus the cover sections and the wings form an enclosure generally bounded by the rear end of the gripper section and the bight section of the jaw member.

A cross bent leaf spring generally indicated at 50 is disposed within this enclosure. The spring has a central section 52, generally concave in shape, which fits within and abuts the rear end 42 of the cover section. The spring has two ends 54 and 56 which are cut back to allow the ends to cross one another as is best seen in FIGURE 1. The two extreme ends are bent into hooks 56 and abut the outer side of the bight section 20 of the jaw member. The spring ends 20 thus urge the jaw section into the position indicated in FIGURE 3 with respect to the gripper sections and the rest of the assembly.

In use, the tweezer is held with two fingers pressed against the sections 32. As the sections 32 are pressed together the jaw ends 12 are first urged into a clamping position and then a continued pressure causes the entire jaw section to move upwardly, as seen in FIGURE 3, with respect to the gripper section and the cover, due to the action of the gripper ends 26 against the cam sections 22. This quick retracting motion neatly pulls out hairs or other items retained within the jaws.

The entire end of the mechanism, including the spring 50, is neatly and unobtrusively retained within the covers 40 and the mating wings 38 of the gripper section. This provides a simple and highly aesthetic assembly.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A retracting tweezer, comprising: a U-shaped jaw member having bent sections in each of its legs; a U- shaped gripper member surrounding said jaw member and having its ends engaging the bent sections of the legs of the jaw member; a cover member including a pair of fiat surfaces extending over the sides of the gripper member; and an elongated spring having a center section abutting the bight in said gripper member and having crossed legs each having their ends abutting the bight of said jaw member, whereby pressure on a gripper member first causes said jaw members to close and then causes said jaw members to retract with respect to said gripper member against the pressure of the spring.

2. A retracting tweezer, comprising: a U-shaped member having each of its legs bent into a cam configuration; a U-shaped gripper member surrounding the jaw member and having the ends of its legs connected and surrounding said cam sections of the jaw members legs; and an elongated spring having its center section abutting the bight end of the gripper member and having its leg members crossing one another with their ends abutting the bight in the jaw members, whereby pressure on the gripper member first causes the jaw members to close and then to retract with respect to the gripper member against the pressure of the spring.

3. A retracting tweezer, comprising: a U-shaped jaw member having opposed gripping surfaces on its extreme ends and having bends formed at its legs so as to create a cam configuration; a U-shaped gripper member having finger pads on its opposed legs and having its extreme ends supported about the cam sections of the legs of the jaw member, a pair of wings extending inwardly from each of the legs of said gripper member between the bight thereof and the finger pads; a cover member having a pair of flat, opposed surfaces joined by a section which abuts the inside of the bight of the gripper member and having ends which engage the wings of the gripper member; and an elongated leaf spring having its center section abutting the interior of the cover member and having its ends crossed with respect to one another and abutting the bight of the gripper section so as to urge the jaw section into an extended position with respect to the gripper section, whereby pressure on the finger pads of the gripper section causes the jaws first to move together and then to retract with respect to the gripper section against the pressure of the spring.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,533,801 12/1950 Heilig 128354 BERNARD A. GELAK, Primary Examiner. O. M. SIMPSON, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A RETRACTING TWEEZER, COMPRISING: A U-SHAPED JAW MEMBER HAVING BENT SECTIONS IN EACH OF ITS LEGS; A USHAPED GRIPPER MEMBER SURROUNDING SAID JAW MEMBER AND HAVING ITS ENDS ENGAGING THE BENT SECTIONS OF THE LEGS OF THE JAW MEMBER; A COVER MEMBER INCLUDING A PAIR OF FLAT SURFACES EXTENDING OVER THE SIDES OF THE GRIPPER MEMBER; AND AN ELONGATED SPRING HAVING A CENTER SECTION ABUTTING THE BIGHT IN SAID GRIPPER MEMBER AND HAVING CROSSED LEGS EACH HAVING THEIR ENDS ABUTTING THE BIGHT OF SAID JAW 